Keith Brown

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Mobile is the future, just don’t forget the consumer

Mobile commerce is set to revolutionise the way that consumers engage with brands, but marketers don’t seem to be putting it to good use yet. 

According to KPMG, mobile payments are set to reach £591bn by 2015 while Gartner predicts that 190m people will use their mobile to make payments in the next 24 months.

The potential for marketers is obvious, however in order to take advantage of this growing market they must first understand the full scope of what mobile payments entail.

Mobile payments: much more than micro

Mobile payments can be so much more than just paying for your coffee and paper on the way into work.

As we’ve seen with mobile sites such as M&S, some consumers are willing to use mobile sites for those big one-off purchases that would have previously seen them buying online or on the High Street.

What do retailers need to do to tempt micro-payment converts to make bigger purchases?

Will NFC be the technology that tips us into mobile retail?

Research by YouGov has found that 91% of British consumers have not heard of NFC technology, while 70% have yet to hear of the ‘mobile wallet’.

Though Juniper Research predicts that $50bn in worldwide sales revenue will be generated by NFC mobile payments by 2014, it’s clear that there is some way to go before British shoppers turn their backs on cash in favour of their mobile.

The scramble for mobile payments

Every part of the mobile supply chain is getting in on the mobile payments act. This is being driven not by technology, but by a shift in consumer behaviour.